The Complicated Relationship between Mormons and Jews

Before dawn on October 24, 1841, Orson Hyde scaled the Mount of Olives outside Jerusalem. There, as the sun rose, he wrote and recited a prayer, which said in part,

O Lord! Thy servant has been obedient to the heavenly vision which Thou gavest him in his native land; and under the shadow of Thine outstretched arm, he has safely arrived in this place to dedicate and consecrate this land unto Thee, for the gathering together of Judah’s scattered remnants, according to the predictions of the holy Prophets—for the building up of Jerusalem again after it has been trodden down by the Gentiles so long, and for rearing a Temple in honor of Thy name.

In imitation of Jacob and Joshua, he then built a small pile of stones in commemoration of his dedicatory prayer. Then Hyde descended the mount and headed for a ship that would bear him to Europe, and ultimately back to the United States, where he made his way to Illinois. Until 1846, Nauvoo, Illinois served as the headquarters of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (often called the Mormon or LDS church) and Orson Hyde there stood as a member of the church’s Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in service to Joseph Smith, the church’s founder, president, and prophet.